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1 Middletown High School College and Career Center Instruction Guide for Parents of College-Bound Students What Every Parent Needs to Know

2 A Message from Ann Hall Table of Contents Why Should My Student Go To College 3 Being An Informed and Involved Parent 4 High School College and Career Readiness 5 Tests Your Student May Encounter in High School 6 Beware Senioritis! 7 Is College Right For Your Child? 8 Misperceptions Parents May Have About College 9 Decisions, Decisions! 10 Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Mark Twain This publication was produced by Ann Hall, Director of Guidance Services and Programs. Community Colleges 11, 12 Rejected, Wait-Listed, Accepted? 13 Choosing a College Major 14 Financial Aid 15 Financial Aid Terms 16 Financial Aid and Internet Resources 17 Off to College Checklist 18, 19 Preparing For Your Child s Move to College 20 Homesickness How to Help Your Child 21 College Prep Glossary 22, 23 Ann Hall Director of Guidance Services and Programs Middletown High School 24 Gardner Avenue Extension Middletown, NY (845)

3 Why Should My Student Go To College? Start early No matter how young your student is, it is never too early to begin planning for college and talking with your student about it. Be clear Communicate your expectations to your student about his or her behavior and performance in school. Beginning the process of thinking about your student going to college can be overwhelming. Some things to think about when considering sending your student to college are: A college degree offers your student a wider variety of job options. Of all the job openings between now and 2016 that pay more than $15 per hour, about 70 per cent will require some college. Over a lifetime, a college graduate will earn on average $1 million dollars more than a high school graduate. College graduates typically have better access to health care than those with only a high school diploma. A person who graduates from college is more likely to own a home than someone with a high school diploma. Once you believe that college will offer your student opportunities in life that they would not otherwise be able to achieve, there are some simple things that you can do to help them be prepared. Talk Have frequent conversations with your student about schoolwork, goals and the importance of education. Encourage Motivate your student to try new activities, volunteer in the community and succeed in school. Studies have shown that students involved in school activities enjoy school more and do better academically. Extra activities at school help students make new friends, gain confidence and new skills and have fun! Need help navigating the college application process? Make an appointment with Mrs. Parker at the College and Career Center. COLLEGE & CAREER CENTER Lisa Parker Phone: (845) Lisa Parker College and Career Advisor 3

4 Being an Informed and Involved Parent Being an informed and involved parent is vital to your student s future success in graduating high school and attending college. The following suggestions and information will help you to help your student achieve their goals: Attend parent events. They are planned by the school to provide important information to help your student succeed. Attending these events shows your student that his or her education is important to you. If you are unable to attend, see if another responsible adult can go in your place to bring you the information, or get the information from another parent that did attend the event. Set academic goals. Sit down with your student to do this. Setting academic goals will give your student something specific to work toward in school. Examples of academic goals are: Read at least one book each week. Get at least a B on every math quiz. Hand in all English homework on time. Spend at least 30 minutes every week studying for tests. Have a school calendar at home. All schools have a calendar that shows when the school will be closed for holidays and vacations. It also will show when parent conferences are and when each term begins and ends. Know your student s school counselor and teachers and how to contact them. Introduce yourself at a student event. You don t have to wait for them to contact you. Teachers and counselors are responsible for helping students achieve success. You must be your student s advocate. School counselors are responsible for monitoring student academic success and answering questions about school or other difficult situations. Counselors also help your student schedule the classes they want to take. Be sure that your student takes classes that prepare them to be a successful college student. PARENTS Attend as many parent-teacher conferences as you are able. Here are some questions you can ask to get the most out of these meetings: Q. Is my student s homework completed accurately and turned in on time? Q. Is my student working to his or her potential? Q. Is my student respectful of other students and adults in class? Q. Does my student participate and pay attention in class? Q. Does my student come to class prepared? Q. What are my student s strengths and weaknesses? How can I help him or her improve? Q. Is my student taking the classes that will prepare him or her for college-level work? If not, why not? 4 Review all report cards. Contact your school to find out when they will be sent out. Talk with your student about his or her teachers to see how each of them may want your student to keep track of their assignments. Tell your student that you will regularly review his or her planner to check on assignments. Have your student clean out and organize his or her backpack once a week. Doing this will help them turn in assignments on time. Insist that your student attend school every day, unless sick. If your student will be absent from school for more than a day, contact his or her teachers to see if work can be picked up for your student to work on while home. Make sure your student s top priority is school work above sports and working a job!

5 High School College and Career Readiness Going to College? College and Career Readiness College admission counselors recommend all students who plan to apply to college add the following to their high school program: Additional courses in math, science, and/or foreign language in your senior year. Take at least one college or AP course. Participate in an extra-curricular sport or activity. Do some type of community service. The College Ambassadors Club will help you to fulfill community service requirements that many colleges require. Take the PSAT, SAT, and ACT. For more information on college preparation, visit the College and Career Center. Student Benchmarks to College and Career Readiness The college entrance process has become very competitive. A basic high school diploma may not guarantee admittance. The College and Career Center, working closely with college admissions counselors, has established the following minimum benchmarks for students interested in going to college: Attendance of 95% or better. Course grades of 80% or higher. Regents exam grades of 80% or higher. Complete diploma requirements in 4 years. Pass all New York State Regents exams with a 75% or higher. Participate in a career emphasis of coursework. i.e., Academy of Finance, Academy of Information Technology, Project Lead the Way, BOCES, Art, Music or Business. 5

6 Tests Your Student May Encounter in High School College Preparation Tests: PLAN: Measures academic development in preparation for the ACT and explores career options. PSAT: Measures academic development in preparation for the SAT and may qualify students for the National Merit Scholarship Program. College Admission Tests: Most four-year colleges and universities require admission tests scores from applicants and accept the ACT or SAT. You must register and pay for these tests in advance. Some tests have the option to waive the registration fee. Your student takes the test outside of the regular school day, usually on a Saturday. ACT: Tests English, reading, writing, math and science reasoning skills. ( SAT: Tests verbal and math reasoning abilities and writing skills. ( If English is not your student s first language, he or she may be required to take the TOEFL ( which tests the ability of non-native speakers of English to understand and use North American English. Tests are a normal part of school. There are many ways you can help your student be a successful test taker: Talk about tests in a very positive way, even if you had negative experiences yourself in school. Your student will pick up on your attitude about test taking. Remind your student that tests are meant to measure how well he or she understands a particular subject. Help your student prepare for his or her tests far in advance. Here are some ways to do that: At the beginning of each week, ask which tests or quizzes are coming up. Help your student plan to study each day for each test. Review any reading or notes your student has on the subject. Make sure your student gets plenty of sleep the day before and eats breakfast the morning of the test. Have your student read aloud or write down key points. Writing or saying these will help him or her remember them during the test. Have your student explain his or her notes to you in his or her own words. If your student can do this, he or she probably understands the concept. Remind your student the day of the test to be confident of what he or she knows and take a few deep breaths before starting the test. 6 Did you know? Pay premium for those with Bachelors Degrees has grown substantially! Women with college degrees earned 79 percent more than women with high school diplomas. Men earned 74 percent more. The economy today has become a less forgiving place; it more drastically favors those with higher levels of schooling and punishes those with low levels of schooling.

7 BEWARE SENIORITIS! Help your child make their senior year count! They have worked hard for three years taking tests, completing projects and preparing for college admission. When senior year rolls around, some students just want to get through college applications and relax before they head off to the college of their choice. Taking it easy senior year may be a nice break for your child, but it is likely to do more harm than good. College admissions officers pay close attention to senior year performance. Many students mistakenly believe that prepping for college ends after the eleventh grade. However, the senior year the entire senior year is actually of particular interest to colleges. Many college applications (including the Common Application) require your child to list his/her senior courses, including information about course levels and credit hours. It will be very obvious to the admissions officers if her/she has decided to take the year off. Many colleges also include as part of the application a form called the midyear grade report, Your child s counselor completes this form with firsthalf grades and sends it to the college. It then becomes a crucial part of the application folder. Many college acceptance letters include warnings to students such as your admission is contingent on your continued successful performance. This means that colleges reserve the right to deny your child admission should their senior year grades drop. Your child s senior year is their opportunity to strengthen skills and broaden experiences in school and out, and to prepare for all the challenges that lie ahead. Your child should take the most rigorous courses available and be sure to continue taking college-track subjects. They should consider AP college courses which can earn credit at many colleges. Did you Know? As many as half of all college students do not have adequate academic preparation and are required to take remedial courses. More than one-quarter of the freshman at four-year colleges and nearly half of those at two-year colleges do not even make it to their sophomore year. Your child s continued involvement in activities, sports and volunteer work will help him/her stay active and focused through their final year. In addition a great internship or career-focused job opportunity can help motivate your child to start considering their career options. MHS Honor Graduates 7

8 Is College Right for Your Child? How to Weigh the Pros and Cons For some parents, sending a child to college may seem impossible or even ill-advised. College is expensive. The application process seems bewildering. Is it really worth it, especially if your child has no idea what career he/she wants? A College Education Creates Earning Power The resounding answer is yes. Research shows that people with college degrees have more job choices and earn more money. In fact, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, those with a bachelor's degree earn over 60 percent more on average than those with a high school diploma. Over a lifetime, the gap in earning potential between a high school diploma and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree is more than $800,000. College Teaches Essential Thinking Skills Many jobs today depend on brain power, not muscle power. In fact, the government predicts that 18.7 million of the 18.9 million new jobs expected in the next decade will be in service industries including professionals of all kinds not manufacturing. Today, 9 out of 10 people change jobs at least twice in a career, often switching to fields that are brand new. Technology advances so rapidly that it is difficult to predict what kinds of new opportunities will be available to your child. But a college education will provide the critical thinking and reasoning skills to succeed in an ever-changing world. Jonathan G. is a sophomore who was President of his Freshman Class. He is developing 21st century leadership skills by joining the YMCA Youth Leadership Team. The quality of courses completed in high school is a greater predictor of college success than test scores, class rank or grade point average. 8

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